Food Fight

My DD is 21 months now. I am hoping that this is just happening to coincide with her father's visit this past week....

She has started throwing her food on the floor, walls, as far as she can get it. What's going on?

I know that her father tries to force feed her but things are completely different here at home...she decides if she wants to eat, how much she wants to eat, and what on her plate (or in the fridge) she wants to eat. I get the whole setting up an eating disorder thing (control) and am (I hope) doing my best to let her set the pace.

But this past weekend she has started hurling her food across the room. It's around either not liking it or when she is finished and doesn't want it anymore. I've reminded her to use her words and her signs to tell me instead of the toss. I've explained to her that food is for eating not thowing. I need some help here. The last two nights I've spent peeling food off the walls and having to do major clean up on the floors (covered with rice and fish.)

Has anyone else experienced this? Dear old Dad sees no problem force feeding her at a frenzied speed (his Dad did this to him and he now equates it with love, his father had to eat this way when he was young because he was in war time in Greece and food was scarce.)

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Our son tried this and we didn't tolerate it. It was too upsetting to see food wasted like that when we're strapped as it is.

So, if he did it, we'd explain we don't do that and that maybe he should eat when he's ready to eat and not throw. Food is for eating and balls are for throwing. We'd get him down from his seat and let him go play. Sometimes he'd fuss for a bit and I'd remind him his food was there when he was ready to eat. He'd come back later and eat without problems.

What was irritating was that he previously used words or signs to let us know he was done, but I guess they do regress a bit from time to time and choose not to communicate in easy to understand ways.

Could it be that she is fighting having to stay in her seat? My daughter has a hard time staying still for very long gets quite fussy if we try to make her stay at the table for more than 5 or 10 min. We have found that if we let her up from the table when she starts to fuss, but leave the food available, it works out in the end.

So...she might eat her dinner over the course of an hour and we ocassionally need to bring a bite of food to her but it has cut down on the fussiness at the dinner table. If your house rules allow...maybe you can bring her dinner to a low-lying table where she plays so that she can eat, play, eat, play, etc.

My daughter just wants to play from the moment she wakes until she is in bed at night.

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I hope that it is the age. She use to tell me or sign to me that she was all done. Now it goes right to throwing, no inbetween. Last night she asked for more so I gave her a little bit more (as she had eaten everything! on her plate. wow) she took one bite and then hurled the rest.

I'll try the suggestions tonight. She likes to eat up at the table with me and she loves to say grace. o at least she use to...Maybe I'll start with just a couple of bites on her plate at a time.
Honestly it is a little funny...it reminds me of those scenes on tv and in the movies that you think only happen in some off kiltered screen writers mind! but I don't want to clean and nor do I want her to think this is acceptable behavior. and I hope that it is the age and not some other parents (ahem dada) feeding technique rebellion.